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Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) was a German philosopher. He was the last of the great philosophical system builders of modern times—his work, following upon that of Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, and Friedrich Schelling, celebrates the pinnacle of classical German philosophy.

Born in Stuttgart, Hegel’s teaching career was disrupted in 1806 by Napoleon I’s victory at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt. When headmaster of the gymnasium at Nuremberg 1808–16, he published his first great work Phanomenologie des Geistes (1807; The Phenomenology of Mind,) which explains how the human mind has progressed from mere consciousness through self-consciousness, reason, spirit and religion, to absolute knowledge.

Hegel is also known for his three-stage process of dialectical reasoning, set out in his Wissenschaft der Logik (1812–16; Science of Logic,) which underlies his idealist concepts of the progress of history, and the evolution of ideas and human consciousness.

Hegel’s impact on ensuing generations is immeasurable. Hegel influenced the Danish existentialist Søren Kierkegaard, the Marxists who turned to social action, and the analytic philosopher Bertrand Russell.

The true courage of civilized nations is readiness for sacrifice in the service of the state, so that the individual counts as only one amongst many. The important thing here is not personal mettle but aligning oneself with the universal.—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel